As per my previous post, Im gonna be painting my truck this winter, not roll on but with a gun. Can someone with expierence help me out with the steps required, coats, sand paper etc? I have a 1993 ford ranger, has white paint, but its very faded, not glossy, scratches, marks etc. Their is really no rust on body, (few dents that are small i can prob get out). Looking for advice on steps to prep truck for paint, how many coats of paint, what grit sand paper, wet sanding etc. What kind of clear coats, paint brand etc.. Thinking of maybe a blue paint..
First you need to pull anything off the truck that you dont feel like taping off. Then wash the truck really good, followed by a good wipe down with a wax and grease remover. Then fix whatever dents and dings you want to repair. Feather the repairs out with 320 grit sandpaper. Apply 3 good coats of 2 part urethane primer over the repaired areas. Block primered areas with 320 grit paper until they are flat. Now sand the whole truck with 400 grit paper then move to 600 grit paper. Scuff all edges with a red scotch brite. After the whole truck is sanded with no shiny spots, blow the dust off and reclean with wax and grease remover. Now mask everything off that you dont want painted. Once that is done clean with a final clean solvent. Blow off truck and then wipe it down lightly with a tack rag. Put your base coats on with even medium wet coats, base does not need to go on heavy and look real shiny as its applied, wait till all of the base looks dull and before applying another coat. Once you think the color is covered and uniformed put one or two more coats on, just to be sure. Then follow it up with 2-3 coats of a high solids urethane clear coat. With clear coat wait in between coats until you can touch the clear on the paper and strings of it do not come off the paper when you remove your finger. Doesn't really matter what brand paint you decide to use, just make sure the clear you get has been tested for uv resistance. Hope that helps. If you have any more specific questions pm me.
http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/body/hrdp_0805_125_steps_to_perfect_paint/index.html There's other stuff on the web, this is just one (with more steps than you really need, IMO, for a junk truck you were willing to use a roller on).
where are you located ? im sure there are enough "painters" around here that someone is close enough to come help out some and give you a quick you listen and do the work while i drink beer lesson ... hell ild do it if you buy the beer
I didn't realize it was possible to use car paint with a roller instead of a gun. edit: and still achieve decent results, that is.
For sanding the whole truck, do you do it by hand or can you get a sander? When you sand, do you have to take it to bare metal? My paint already has no shine to it, so would i do a quick sand, or try to sand the paint off?
D/A is fine , sanding by hand would suck ... just keep it flat sand evenly , doesnt need to go to bare metal ... even tho its dull you will beable to notice a difference in the look of the paint when its sanded and untouched ... then scuff all of the edges and BAM its ready to paint
Ya definitely don't take it down to bare metal just get nice and even and oone small note when. Spraying do your edges first then your big areas bexcause iff you don't there more likely to run because that's a heavy area good luck and don't rush
What he said. You are better off buying a cheap random orbital sander or borrowing one. Hand sanding sucks. Taking the truck to bare metal will create alot more work for you. As long as the paint on the truck is not flaking off there is no need to strip it.
